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2017 Moose and Caribou Hunt

mdhunter61

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Back in Maryland after another Alaska wilderness adventure – Alaska delivered as only Alaska can. Here is our gear load arriving on the ridgetop. While flying into camp, we saw a very large grizzly dragging another grizzly that it had killed – and we were reminded that out here, there is competition for the top of the food chain…

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Here’s our campsite – we use the orange tent for sleeping, and the green tent for food and gear. Nice to have a separate tent to cook and sit in when the rain is falling pretty hard. Found water about a half mile from the tents at about the same elevation, so fetching water was relatively easy this year.

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Shot a nice caribou on Day 2 of our 11-day hunt – he was in a group of 11 that had several other nice bulls in it. He may have been a leader of the group – the rest were hesitant to leave him, and one nice bull hung around the area for 2 days, even after a grizzly dragged the carcass down into a draw.

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It was about a 2-mile pack back to the ridgetop where the Super Cub could pick up the meat and antlers and take it to town (we had another 9 days to camp and hunt). Here I am at the halfway point back to the ridgetop, shuttling the meat and antlers from one stop to the next.

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We saw 8-10 grizzly bears on our 11-day hunt; on Day 4 we encountered this one on the ridge where we camped, and decided that we needed to run him off as he was way too close to camp.

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Things got a little tense when he circled to get downwind and slightly above us – but after a few moments he opted to search for greener pastures, and we never saw him again.

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We were concerned about this calf caribou that hung around camp for a few days; if it didn’t hook up with some adult caribou, it would likely be killed within days by bears or wolves (that is likely what happened to its mother).

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Although we couldn’t get him a moose, my buddy and I shared another great adventure; we may have to do it again in a few years, when his son graduates from high school…

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Looks like an awesome trip. Congrats. Did you see any moose?

We saw 8-10 bulls and about a dozen cows. The rut where we were started really late this year, and bulls were traveling together, and not responding to calls, up through the end of our hunt. Most were using a ridge across the river and about 2 miles away from us. We tried to think of a way to go to them, but with all of the moose spread across the ridge, we couldn't come up with a way to do it that wouldn't spread our scent and spook them all out of there.
 
That's a nice bear. Too bad you couldn't shoot him.

I've seen a lot of bears this fall as well. Saw 7 last weekend. Need to put a hole in one.
 
That's a nice bear. Too bad you couldn't shoot him.

I've seen a lot of bears this fall as well. Saw 7 last weekend. Need to put a hole in one.

Yea, he would have been a pretty simple stalk and shot, if not for the guide requirement (sigh). I used to see some black bears in the 40 Mile country, but none the past several years - too many grizzlies around I guess.
 
Awesome pictures Michael. Looks like another good year in Alaska for you guys. Keep at it and a big bull moose is going down one of these years!!!
 
Awesome pictures Michael. Looks like another good year in Alaska for you guys. Keep at it and a big bull moose is going down one of these years!!!

Thanks Jason! We were on a ridge a few miles from where you and I hunted caribou in 2015. There were 4 guys hunting where you and I did, but they came out a few days early when the moose weren't moving or coming to calls.
 
Looks like another great adventure, Michael. Sure wish I could make the trip every year, but not in the cards just yet. I am working on a plan for a float hunt for caribou in 2019, and then moose hunts for 2020 and 2022. You've been blessed, and I enjoy reading your hunt reports and looking at your pics. Keep up the good work. Knute
 
Looks like another great adventure, Michael. Sure wish I could make the trip every year, but not in the cards just yet. I am working on a plan for a float hunt for caribou in 2019, and then moose hunts for 2020 and 2022. You've been blessed, and I enjoy reading your hunt reports and looking at your pics. Keep up the good work. Knute

Thanks Knute! I'm gonna take a break next year and go somewhere with my girlfriend, but have 2 partners in the queue for future hunts. :) Hope you and your son and family are doing well!
 
Congratulations on your hunt Michael. Thanks again for your help with mine. Alaska is a special place and I can't wait to go back.
 
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